Mumbai Cricket Association to celebrate Wankhede's birth centenary

Former president's September 24 birth centenary will be commemorated in grand fashion in November

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has decided on a grand function in November to celebrate the birth centenary of their former president Seshrao Krishnarao Wankhede whose centenary is on September 24.

Seshrao Krishnarao Wankhede. Pic/Getty Images.

Wankhede was born on September 24, 1914. The champion cricket administrator passed away on January 30, 1988.

The historic Wankhede Stadium, which is named after him, will be the venue of a large gathering comprising Mumbai’s cricketing fraternity. The decision was taken during yesterday’s Managing Committee meeting which was attended by MCA president Sharad Pawar. The Nationalist Congress Party chief took time out from his busy election schedule to attend the meeting.

“We have decided to celebrate SK Wankhede’s birth centenary in November. We are planning to invite ex-players and current cricketers and also club secretaries for a get-together,” Dr PV Shetty, MCA’s Joint Honorary Secretary, told mid-day.

Meanwhile, the Managing Committee also decided to provide Rs 5000 every month to former Mumbai cricketers Sharad Hazare and Abdul Ismail, who played in the 1960s and 1970s. Both these 69-year-old cricketers get Rs 15,000 as pension from the Indian cricket board as they are prominent first-class players. Cricketers who get pension from the Board do not get pension from the MCA.

But with the MCA deciding to hike the monthly pension for cricketers aged 70 plus to Rs 20,000, the Rs 15,000 the above two cricketers get every month from the Board is less than what other Mumbai players get. Hence, the MCA decided to compensate Hazare and Ismail so that their pension packet is Rs 20,000 (Rs 15,000 from BCCI and Rs 5000 from MCA).

Dr Shetty said that they acted on a letter about this anomaly from Milind Rege, the former Mumbai captain and current selector.

The Managing Committee also decided to consider pensions for those cricketers who missed out on a Ranji Trophy cap despite being prolific performers on the local circuit, on a case-to-case basis.